@ChannelNewsAsia

KUALA LUMPUR: Some Malay atheists in Malaysia are worried and fearful – in recent days there was a call by a minister “to track them down” while a Muslim cleric issued a reminder that the penalty for apostasy under Islam is “death”. “I am worried. I have already accepted that something might happen to me … that I might be killed,” Halim (not his real name), told Channel NewsAsia. “I say this because I see how extreme people have become, how my Facebook friends (could) turn into real-life threats for me with their comments that it is halal (permitted) to kill atheists, apostates … how eager they are to kill to gain merits in heaven,” he said. Another self-professed atheist, Chaidir (not his real name), expressed worry for his friends who are less fortunate. “I worry for them because they are poor and have no connections. That makes them so much more vulnerable. At least for...